2019/07/18 by Kenichi Tani, Kosuke Sakai · 1 voice
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice #Philosophical and Historical Studies #Social Representations and Identity
paper · doi:10.1177/1463499619859107
openalex publication_date 2019/07/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
The aim of this paper is to define transcendental relativization, by using the binary in some anthropological works, and to give a description of it along with Niklas Luhmann’s sociology. We examine how the binary [the West/non-West] has been used in some anthropological works and how it has contributed not only to understanding ‘them’ as a research object but also to realizing ‘our’ conceptual limitations. This paper is an attempt to deal with political or power-relational asymmetry and scientific observational asymmetry in anthropological works. Luhmann’s sociology, which is based on the functional analysis and theory of social systems, shows that the binary approach in anthropology can be seen as a semantic form of science system, which realizes the existence of blind spots in anthropological observation, and is a possible strategy for anthropological investigations.